Rating: 4/5
Review:
Very enjoyable
I enjoyed Still Life. I hadn’t read Louise Penny before; she was a
recommendation by a friend and I’ll certainly be reading more in
this series.
Set in a small town
in Quebec, Penny creates a fine sense of place and of the
French/English politics of the place which often run below the
surface. Her characters are excellently drawn and Gamache is a
thoughtful, engaging protagonist. The plot involves the death of a
much-liked and respected woman and reminded me in structure of Agatha
Christie, with a closed community, red herrings, revelations and so
on. Penny’s characters are much richer than Christie’s, though,
and this is what gives the book its quality. I found it very
engaging and readable – although I could have done without an
implausible “climax” which, in contrast to the rest of the book,
seemed formulaic and rather silly.
I’m looking
forward to the rest of this series and can warmly recommend Still
Life.
No comments:
Post a Comment